Last card in 2011

I have a really good friend who is the most awesome hostess and loves spoiling her friends at year end, with a fabulous luncheon, a couple of weeks before Christmas. This is a 'girls only' get together and we all look forward to the amazing food and catch-up with the group.

Each lady brings a gift all beautifully wrapped and  is preferably hand made. Now, some of these ladies are super talented and bring along quilted wall hangings or table runners, exquisite hand made jewellery, beautifully embroidered hand towels or similar and so the list goes on. I have over the years made teddies, but the last two years I have made up a pack of 10 or 12 cards, with envelopes, in a box, as my contribution. I try to give a selection of birthday, thanks, sympathy, get well soon etc. Whilst there are a few stampers in the group, most do not do paper crafts, so this is a very desirable gift to receive - or so I'm told!

We play a game that involves much haggling, passing on and fighting over - sounds uncivilised, but really is not - just great fun and most ladies seem to end up with what they fancy, well some at least get the best gifts. This card was one in the pack I took along this year. I used a Hero Arts butterfly collage stamp and masked the butterflies so I could colour the background with Distress Inks, then went in with Copic's and coloured the butterflies and added Glossy Accents to the big ones. Distressed the edges and swiped with Vintage Photo ink and mounted onto a white card. As I did not want to place a sentiment on it, I thought I would add a leafy flourish to finish it off. I thought it turned out quite a pretty card. So folks, that was my last card for the year, except of a couple of last minute gift tags.....